Phosphocofilin: cofilin co-localization intensity as a predictor of metastatic recurrence

ABSTRACT

Methods and products are provided for determining if a subject having a tumor is at risk of metastasis of the tumor. Specifically, the methods comprise detecting phosphorylated cofilin, and both phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated cofilin; quantifying the phosphorylated cofilin, and the total of phosphorylated and nonphosphorylated cofilin; and determining if a subject having the tumor is likely to experience metastasis of the tumor, based on the ratio of the amount of detected phosphorylated cofilin: total amount of phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated cofilin detected. Further disclosed are the types of tumor metastases that can be determined using the methods provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/523,539, filed Aug. 15, 2011, the contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference.

STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

This invention was made with government support under grant numbersCA100324 and CA150344 by the National Cancer Institute. The governmenthas certain rights in the invention.

SEQUENCE LISTING INCORPORATION

The “.txt” Sequence Listing filed by EFS, and which is entitled96700_(—)1862_ST25.txt, is 2 kilobytes in size and was created on Jun.25, 2012, is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Throughout this application various publications are referred to bynumber, or by author and year, in parentheses. Full citations for thesereferences may be found at the end of the specification. The disclosuresof these publications are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety into the subject application to more fully describe the art towhich the subject invention pertains.

Virtually all cancers, including cancers of the blood and the lymphaticsystem, can form metastatic tumors. Although rare, the metastasis ofblood and lymphatic system cancers to the lungs, heart, central nervoussystem, and other tissues has been reported. The most common sites ofcancer metastasis are the lungs, bones, and liver. Although most cancershave the ability to spread to many different parts of the body, theyusually spread to one site more often than others. Metastatic cancer maybe treated with systemic therapy (chemotherapy, biological therapy,targeted therapy, hormonal therapy), local therapy (surgery, radiationtherapy), or a combination of these treatments. However, identificationof metastatic risk is still a difficult task.

Breast cancer is one of the most frequent malignant neoplasms occurringin women in developed countries and metastasis of breast cancer is themain cause of death in these patients. One out of three cancersdiagnosed among US women is due to breast cancer; 212,920 new invasivebreast cancer cases and an additional 61,980 in situ breast cancer casesare expected to be diagnosed in 2006. Around 40,970 women are expectedto die from breast cancer in 2006 (American Cancer Society, BreastCancer Facts and Figures 2006). The metastasis of 10-15% of patientswith breast cancer is aggressive and can take between 3-10 years to bemanifested after the initial diagnosis. Currently, the prognosis in 70%of patients cannot be accurately determined resulting in the unnecessarytreatment of many patients who will not benefit and may be injured byradiation and chemotherapy.

The idea of personalized medicine and molecular profiling for prognostictests has lead to a plethora of studies in the past 10 years in searchof genetic determinants of metastasis. Such studies have identified genesets, or “signatures”, the expression of which in primary tumors isassociated with higher risk of metastasis and poor disease outcome forthe patients. Early methods of analysis treated the tumor as a whole,without respect to the different metastatic stages or themicroenvironments. For example, the first molecular classification oftumors and identification of gene signatures associated with metastasis,were all derived from whole pieces of tumor tissue (1-6). Thesesignatures were predictive of metastasis in patients and an importantstep towards applying these methods in clinical care. However, thesesignatures, mostly built to act as a general prognostic tool for theclinic, gave little information about the molecular biology of thedifferent cell types comprising the tumor tissue and little insight intothe specific mechanisms of metastasis.

It is now known that tumors are highly heterogeneous, that not all cellswithin a tumor are migratory and invasive, and that the tumormicroenvironment gives spatial-temporal cues to tumor cells for invasionand metastasis. In addition, metastasis is a multi-step process thatinvolves the escape of cells from the primary tumor either via lymphaticor blood vessels, transport to and arrest in a target organ, and growthof metastases in the target organ. Each of these steps is amulticomponent process, with potentially different tumor cell propertiesand molecules playing critical roles, and therefore each of these stepsseparately deserves detailed attention. More recent signatures give suchemphasis in detailed analysis of the role of the microenvironment inmetastasis (7), as well as analysis of the tissue tropism for metastaticgrowth (8). The latter studies have been informative in prognosis ofsite-specific metastasis, as well as the cell biology behind themechanisms of extravasation, homing and colonization at the distantmetastatic site (9-11).

The availability of a marker that uniquely and specifically identifiesmetastatic disease or potential therefor early in treatment will allowfor accurate prediction of disease course and allow appropriateprophylactic or therapeutic treatment. The present invention addressesthis need.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method of determining if a subject having a tumor is likely toexperience metastasis of the tumor comprising contacting a sample of thetumor with (a) a detectable agent that specifically binds phosphorylatedcofilin and (b) a detectable agent which binds both phosphorylatedcofilin and non-phosphorylated cofilin and quantifying (i) thephosphorylated cofilin bound by (a) and (ii) the total of phosphorylatedcofilin and non-phosphorylated cofilin bound by (b),

wherein a ratio of the amount of phosphorylated cofilin bound:totalamount of phosphorylated cofilin and non-phosphorylated cofilin bound inexcess of a predetermined ratio value indicates that the subject havingthe tumor is likely to experience metastasis of the tumor.

A method is provided of mitigating the risk of metastasis of a tumor ina subject comprising administering to a subject identified by any of themethods described hereinabove as likely to experience metastasis of thetumor an anti-metastatic therapy.

A kit is provided for determining if a subject having a tumor is likelyto experience metastasis of the tumor, the kit comprising (a) adetectable agent that specifically binds phosphorylated cofilin and (b)a detectable agent which binds to phosphorylated cofilin and which bindsto non-phosphorylated cofilin, and instructions for use.

A computer system is provided comprising a program for determining if asubject having a tumor is likely to experience metastasis of the tumor,the computer system comprising a processor and a memory encoding one ormore programs coupled to the processor, wherein the one or more programsquantify phosphorylated cofilin stained with a detectable agent in asample from the tumor in the subject and quantify total phosphorylatedcofilin and un-phosphorylated cofilin stained with a differentdetectable agent in the sample and compare the ratio of the twoquantities to a predetermined ratio value, and instructions for use.

This invention also provides a computer system comprising a program fordetermining if a subject having a tumor is likely to experiencemetastasis of the tumor, the computer system comprising a processor anda memory encoding one or more programs coupled to the processor, whereinthe processor effects the one or more programs to quantifyphosphorylated cofilin stained with a detectable agent in a sample fromthe tumor in the subject and quantify total phosphorylated cofilin andun-phosphorylated cofilin stained with a different detectable agent inthe sample and determine the ratio thereof.

This invention also provides an apparatus comprising the computer systemdescribed herein, and instructions for use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1(A)-1(B). Phosphocofilin:total cofilin colocalization intensity:Univariate analysis of its influence on relapse/metastasis-freesurvival. 1(A) shows staining with Anti-pCofilin IgG-Cy2 (left hand twopanels) and Anti-pan Cofilin IgG-Cy3 (middle two panels). The images aremerged in the right hand two panels. Representative images ofinfiltrating ductal carcinoma stained with anti-phospho-Ser-3-cofilinand anti-pan-cofilin antibodies. Co-localization analysis was performedon 69 patients (30 patients from a 1980's cohort and 39 patients from a1990's cohort). A significant increase in the risk of recurrence due todistal metastasis was observed with higher levels of phosphorylatedcofilin being present in the tumours.

FIG. 2. Plot of raw data showing the inverse correlation betweenPhosphocofilin: total cofilin colocalization intensity and time torelapse due to distal metastasis in the same patient cohort shown in theKaplan Meier analysis FIG. 1. (See Pearson Coefficient).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A method of determining if a subject having a tumor is likely toexperience metastasis of the tumor comprising contacting a sample of thetumor with (a) a detectable agent that binds phosphorylated cofilin and(b) a detectable agent which binds both phosphorylated cofilin andnon-phosphorylated cofilin and quantifying (i) the phosphorylatedcofilin bound by (a) and (ii) the total of phosphorylated cofilin andnon-phosphorylated cofilin bound by (b),

wherein a ratio of the amount of phosphorylated cofilin bound:totalamount of phosphorylated cofilin and non-phosphorylated cofilin bound inexcess of a predetermined ratio value, or a colocalization intensityvalue (IF) within the highly colocalized areas marked by (a) and (b) inexcess of a predetermined IF value, indicates that the subject havingthe tumor is likely to experience metastasis of the tumor.

In an embodiment, the tumor is a breast cancer tumor, or a tumor of thenasopharynx, pharynx, lung, bone, brain, sialaden, stomach, esophagus,testes, ovary, uterus, liver, small intestine, appendix, colon, rectum,gall bladder, pancreas, kidney, urinary bladder, breast, cervix, vagina,vulva, prostate, thyroid or skin.

In an embodiment, IF is intensity of (a) in pixels of an image of thesample x intensity of (b) in pixels of the image of the sample,optionally first masking out pixels with low Pearson distribution. In anembodiment, one of agent (a) or (b) comprises Cy2 and the other agentcomprises Cy3, and IF=I_(Cy2)×I_(Cy3), where I_(Cy2) is the intensity ofCy2 and I_(Cy3) is the intensity of Cy3.

In an embodiment, the tumor is a tumor of the nasopharynx, pharynx,lung, bone, brain, sialaden, stomach, esophagus, testes, ovary, uterus,liver, small intestine, appendix, colon, rectum, gall bladder, pancreas,kidney, urinary bladder, breast, cervix, vagina, vulva, prostate,thyroid or skin.

In an embodiment, the tumor is a solid tumor.

In an embodiment, the sample is a biopsy sample.

In an embodiment, the sample is surgically removed from the subject.

In an embodiment, the detectable agent that binds phosphorylated cofilincomprises an antibody that binds phosphorylated cofilin. In anembodiment, the detectable agent specifically binds phosphorylatedcofilin In an embodiment, the detectable agent specifically bindsnon-phosphorylated cofilin. In an embodiment, the detectable agent thatspecifically binds phosphorylated cofilin comprises an antibody orantigen-binding fragment thereof. In an embodiment, the detectable agentthat specifically binds non-phosphorylated cofilin comprises an antibodyor antigen-binding fragment thereof.

In an embodiment, the detectable agent which binds to phosphorylatedcofilin and to non-phosphorylated cofilin comprises an antibody whichbinds phosphorylated cofilin and which also binds non-phosphorylatedcofilin.

In an embodiment, the detectable agent which binds to phosphorylatedcofilin and to non-phosphorylated cofilin and/or the detectable agentwhich binds to phosphorylated cofilin comprises a fluorescent marker.

In an embodiment, the detectable agent that binds to phosphocofilincomprises a different fluorescent dye than the detectable agent thatbinds to phosphorylated cofilin and to non-phosphorylated cofilin.

In an embodiment the method further comprises obtaining the sample ofthe tumor. In an embodiment, the sample is obtained from the subject.

In an embodiment, the method comprises imaging the stained sample, forexample fluorescently stained by the detectable agents comprisingfluorescent moieties. In an embodiment, the pixels of the imagesobtained with low overlap distribution (ri <1.0) are excluded from theanalysis. In an embodiment, the pixels of the images obtained with lowPearson distribution (pi <1.0) are excluded from the analysis. In anembodiment, the colocalization (of the non-phosphorylated cofilindetectable agent and the phosphorylated cofilin detectable agent) isdetermined by intensity analysis. In an embodiment, the colocalizationis determined for one or more cells of the sample.

In an embodiment, the colocalization of phosphorylated cofilin andnon-phosphorylated cofilin is used as the determinant of whether thetumor is likely to metastasize. In an embodiment, an IF in excess of thepredetermined control value indicates the tumor is likely tometastasize. For example, determination of IF within the highlycolocalized areas between detectable agent for phosphorylated cofilincomprising Cy2 and a pan-cofilin detectable agent comprising Cy3 (firstdefined by masking out the pixels with low Pearson distribution) isemployed; IF=Icy2×Icy3.

In an embodiment of the inventions described herein, the phosphorylatedcofilin and non-phosphorylated cofilin are human cofilin. In anembodiment, the phosphorylated cofilin and non-phosphorylated cofilinare human cofilin 1.

In an embodiment of the inventions described herein, the cofilincomprises SEQ ID NO:1.

In an embodiment of the inventions described herein, the sample is aparaffin-embedded biopsy sample.

In an embodiment of the inventions described herein, the detectableagent which binds to phosphorylated cofilin and which binds tonon-phosphorylated cofilin comprises an anti-pan-cofilin antibody.

In an embodiment of the inventions described herein, the detectableagent which specifically binds to phosphorylated cofilin comprises ananti-phospho-Ser-3-cofilin antibody. In an embodiment, the detectableagent which specifically binds to phosphorylated cofilin comprises ananti-pCofilin IgG-Cy2 antibody. In an embodiment, the detectable agentwhich specifically binds to phosphorylated cofilin and binds tonon-phosphorylated cofilin comprises anti-pan cofilin IgG-Cy3 antibody.

In an embodiment of the inventions described herein, the predeterminedratio value is determined from one or more subjects with malignanttumors which have not metastasized.

In an embodiment of the inventions described herein, the predeterminedratio value is determined from one or more subjects who have had amalignant tumor for at least five years which malignant tumor has notmetastasized.

In an embodiment of the methods described herein, the method furthercomprises administering to the subject found likely to experiencemetastasis of the tumor an anti-metastatic therapy.

A method is provided of mitigating the risk of metastasis of a tumor ina subject comprising administering to a subject identified by any of themethods described hereinabove as likely to experience metastasis of thetumor, an anti-metastatic therapy.

A kit is provided for determining if a subject having a tumor is likelyto experience metastasis of the tumor, the kit comprising (a) adetectable agent that specifically binds phosphorylated cofilin and (b)a detectable agent which binds to phosphorylated cofilin and which bindsto non-phosphorylated cofilin, and instructions for use. In anembodiment, the subject is naïve to cytotoxic and/or chemotherapeutictreatment. In an embodiment, the subject has been subjected to acytotoxic and/or chemotherapeutic treatment. In an embodiment, thesubject has been subjected to a cytotoxic and/or chemotherapeutictreatment of the tumor. The method can assess the metastatic potentialof an individual's tumor post cytotoxic chemotherapy to metastasize.

A computer system is provided comprising a program for determining if asubject having a tumor is likely to experience metastasis of the tumor,the computer system comprising a processor and a memory encoding one ormore programs coupled to the processor, wherein the one or more programsquantify phosphorylated cofilin stained with a detectable agent in asample from the tumor in the subject and quantify total phosphorylatedcofilin and un-phosphorylated cofilin stained with a differentdetectable agent in the sample and compare the ratio of the twoquantities to a predetermined ratio value, and instructions for use.

This invention also provides a computer system comprising a program fordetermining if a subject having a tumor is likely to experiencemetastasis of the tumor, the computer system comprising a processor anda memory encoding one or more programs coupled to the processor, whereinthe processor effects the one or more programs to quantifyphosphorylated cofilin stained with a detectable agent in a sample fromthe tumor in the subject and quantify total phosphorylated cofilin andun-phosphorylated cofilin stained with a different detectable agent inthe sample and determine the ratio thereof.

In an embodiment, the processor effects the program to compare the ratiodetermined of the amount of phosphorylated cofilin bound:total amount ofphosphorylated cofilin and non-phosphorylated cofilin bound to thepredetermined ratio value. In an embodiment, a ratio of the amount ofphosphorylated cofilin bound:total amount of phosphorylated cofilin andnon-phosphorylated cofilin bound in excess of a predetermined ratiovalue indicates that the subject having the tumor is likely toexperience metastasis of the tumor.

This invention also provides an apparatus comprising the computer systemdescribed herein, and instructions for use. In an embodiment, theapparatus further comprises an imaging device. Imaging devices are knownin the art, and include fluorescence imaging devices. In an embodiment,the apparatus further comprises a detectable agent that specificallybinds phosphorylated cofilin and a detectable agent which binds tophosphorylated cofilin and which binds to non-phosphorylated cofilin. Inan embodiment, the detectable agents are antibodies or antigen-bindingfragments of antibodies.

In an embodiment of the kits, computer systems and apparatus describedherein, the detectable agent which specifically binds to phosphorylatedcofilin comprises an anti-phospho-Ser-3-cofilin antibody. In anembodiment, the detectable agent which specifically binds tophosphorylated cofilin comprises an anti-pCofilin IgG-Cy2 antibody. Inan embodiment, the detectable agent which specifically binds tophosphorylated cofilin and binds to non-phosphorylated cofilin comprisesanti-pan cofilin IgG-Cy3 antibody.

As used herein, being determined to “likely experience metastasis” of atumor means that the subject is expected to have metastasis of the tumorwithin five years after being determined as “likely to” by performanceof the method on the subject.

As used herein, not being determined to likely experience metastasis ofa tumor means that the subject is not expected to have metastasis of thetumor within five years after being not being determined as likely to byperformance of the method on the subject.

As used herein, a “sample” may comprise any clinically relevant tissuesample, such as a tumor biopsy, surgically removed sample or fine needleaspirate. The sample may be treated before performance of the method inorder to aid in visualization of staining and/or preservation of thenative cofilin phosphorylation/non-phosphorylation status in the tumor.The sample may be taken from a human subject, or, in a veterinarycontext, from non-human subjects such as ruminants, horses, swine orsheep, or from domestic companion animals such as felines and canines.

In an embodiment of the kit of the invention a control sample isprovided, wherein the control sample is a standardized or normalizedsample (e.g. derived from a normal population) which is, for example,free of cancer, or a standard human tissue reference which tissuecorresponds to the tissue in which the tumor being sampled is, or fromsamples of tumors from patients (e.g. from a cohort study) who did notexperience metastasis, e.g. did not experience metastasis of the tumorwithin 5 years of the sample being collected. The kit may comprise otherelements, for example buffer, preservative etc.

In an embodiment, the kit or the apparatus further comprises a samplefrom the subject. In an embodiment, the kit or the apparatus does notcomprise a sample from the subject.

The term “tumor,” as used herein, refers to all neoplastic cell growthand proliferation, and all pre-cancerous and cancerous cells andtissues. In an embodiment the tumor is a breast cancer tumor.

As used herein, “metastasize” or grammatical equivalent thereof means,in regard to a cancer or tumor, to spread from one organ or tissue of asubject to another non-adjacent organ or non-adjacent tissue of thesubject.

As used herein, an “anti-metastatic” therapy is any art-recognizedtherapy used to reduce the likelihood or incidence of metastasis in anindividual. In non-limiting examples the anti-metastatic therapy isadministration of trastuzumab and/or bevacizumab.

As used herein, an “anti-recurrent” therapy is any art-recognizedtherapy used to reduce the recurrence of a cancer or of a tumor type inan individual.

As used herein, “recurrence” of a tumor, means a later recurrence of thetumor in the same location in the individual, or a later recurrence ofthe same tumor type.

In an embodiment the cofilin (phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated) ishuman cofilin. In an embodiment the human cofilin comprises thefollowing sequence (GenBank: CAA64685.1):

(SEQ ID NO: 1) MASGVAVSDG VIKVFNDMKV RKSSTPEEVK KRKKAVLFCLSEDKKNIILE EGKEILVGDV GQTVDDPYAT FVKMLPDKDC RYALYDATYE TKESKKEDLVFIFWAPESAP LKSKMIYASS KDAIKKKLTG IKHELQANCY EEVKDRCTLA EKLGGSAVIS LEGKPL

As used herein, “detectable” agents comprise, but are not limited tomoieties such as fluorescent dyes, radionuclides, chemiluminescentagents, microparticles, nanoparticles, enzymes, colorimetric labels,magnetic labels, haptens, molecular beacons and aptamer beacons.Non-limiting examples include Cy2, Cy3, fluorochromes such asfluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC), Texas Red, phycoerythrin,allophycocyanin, 6-carboxyfluorescein (6-FAM),2′,7′-dimethoxy-4′,5′-dichloro-6-carboxyfluorescein (JOE),5-carboxyfluorescein (5-FAM) or N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-6-carboxyrhodamine(TAMRA), radioactive labels, e.g. ³²P, ³⁵S, ³H; etc. Such detectableagents can also comprise antibodies, or antibody fragments, or othermolecules, to which the moieties listed herein are bound, conjugated orotherwise attached. In an embodiment at least one of the detectableagents comprises a fluorescent dye. In an embodiment both of thedetectable agents each comprise a fluorescent dye. In an embodiment atleast one of the detectable agents comprises an antibody, or antibodyfragment, having attached thereto a fluorescent dye. In an embodimentboth of the detectable agents each comprise an antibody, or antibodyfragment, each having attached thereto a fluorescent dye, but whereinthe fluorescent dyes have different absorption and/or emission spectra.In an embodiment the detectable agent is an antibody or antigen-bindingfragment thereof which is detectable by a labeled secondary antibody,e.g. having a fluorescent label. In an embodiment each of detectableagents (a) and (b) is a different antibody or antigen-binding fragmentwhich is detectable by a different labeled secondary antibody, e.g.having a fluorescent label.

As used herein, the term “antibody” refers to an intact antibody, i.e.with complete Fc and Fv regions. “Fragment” refers to any portion of anantibody, or portions of an antibody linked together, such as asingle-chain Fv (scFv),which is less than the whole antibody but whichis an antigen-binding portion and which competes with the intactantibody of which it is a fragment for specific binding. As such afragment can be prepared, for example, by cleaving an intact antibody orby recombinant means. See generally, Fundamental Immunology, Ch. 7(Paul, W., ed., 2nd ed. Raven Press, N.Y. (1989), hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety). Antigen-binding fragments may be produced byrecombinant DNA techniques or by enzymatic or chemical cleavage ofintact antibodies or by molecular biology techniques. In someembodiments, a fragment is an Fab, Fab′, F(ab′)₂, F_(d), F_(v),complementarity determining region (CDR) fragment, single-chain antibody(scFv), (a variable domain light chain (V_(L)) and a variable domainheavy chain (V_(H)) linked via a peptide linker. In an embodiment thelinker is 10-25 amino acids in length. In an embodiment the peptidelinker comprises glycine, serine and/or threonine residues. For example,see Bird et al., Science, 242: 423-426 (1988) and Huston et al., Proc.Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 85:5879-5883 (1988) each of which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety), or a polypeptide thatcontains at least a portion of an antibody that is sufficient to conferspecific antigen binding on the polypeptide, including a diabody. FromN-terminus to C-terminus, both the mature light and heavy chain variabledomains comprise the regions FR1, CDR1, FR2, CDR2, FR3, CDR3 and FR4.The assignment of amino acids to each domain is in accordance with thedefinitions of Kabat, Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest(National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. (1987 and 1991)), Chothia& Lesk, J. Mol. Biol. 196:901-917 (1987), or Chothia et al., Nature342:878-883 (1989), each of which are hereby incorporated by referencein their entirety). As used herein, the term “polypeptide” encompassesnative or artificial proteins, protein fragments and polypeptide analogsof a protein sequence. A polypeptide may be monomeric or polymeric. Asused herein, an Fd fragment means an antibody fragment that consists ofthe V_(H) and CH1 domains; an Fv fragment consists of the V₁ and V_(H)domains of a single arm of an antibody; and a dAb fragment (Ward et al.,Nature 341:544-546 (1989) hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety) consists of a V_(H) domain.

In some embodiments, fragments are at least 5, 6, 8 or 10 amino acidslong. In other embodiments, the fragments are at least 14, at least 20,at least 50, or at least 70, 80, 90, 100, 150 or 200 amino acids long.

In an embodiment, one or more detectable agents are monoclonalantibodies. The term “monoclonal antibody” is not intended to be limitedas regards to the source of the antibody or the manner in which it ismade (e.g., by hybridoma, phage selection, recombinant expression,transgenic animals, etc.). The term “monoclonal antibody” as used hereinrefers to an antibody member of a population of substantiallyhomogeneous antibodies, i.e., the individual antibodies comprising thepopulation are identical except for possible mutations, e.g., naturallyoccurring mutations, that may be present in minor amounts. Thus, themodifier “monoclonal” indicates the character of the antibody as notbeing a mixture of discrete antibodies. In certain embodiments, such amonoclonal antibody typically includes an antibody comprising apolypeptide sequence that binds a target, wherein the target-bindingpolypeptide sequence was obtained by a process that includes theselection of a single target binding polypeptide sequence from aplurality of polypeptide sequences. For example, the selection processcan be the selection of a unique clone from a plurality of clones, suchas a pool of hybridoma clones, phage clones, or recombinant DNA clones.It should be understood that a selected target binding sequence can befurther altered, for example, to improve affinity for the target, tohumanize the target binding sequence, to improve its production in cellculture, to reduce its immunogenicity in vivo, to create a multispecificantibody, etc., and that an antibody comprising the altered targetbinding sequence is also a monoclonal antibody of this invention. Incontrast to polyclonal antibody preparations, which typically includedifferent antibodies directed against different determinants (epitopes),each monoclonal antibody of a monoclonal antibody preparation isdirected against a single determinant on an antigen. In addition totheir specificity, monoclonal antibody preparations are advantageous inthat they are typically uncontaminated by other immunoglobulins.

A “human antibody” is one whose sequences correspond to (i.e. have thesame in sequence as) an antibody produced by a human and/or has beenmade using any of the techniques for making human antibodies asdisclosed herein. This definition of a human antibody specificallyexcludes a humanized antibody. A “human antibody” as used herein can beproduced using various techniques known in the art, includingphage-display libraries (e.g. Hoogenboom and Winter, J. Mol. Biol.,227:381 (1991); Marks et al., J. Mol. Biol., 222:581 (1991), herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety), by methods described in Coleet al., Monoclonal Antibodies and Cancer Therapy, Alan R. Liss, p. 77(1985) (hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety); Boerner etal., J. Immunol., 147(1):86-95 (1991) (hereby incorporated by referencein its entirety), van Dijk and van de Winkel, Curr. Opin. Pharmacol., 5:368-74 (2001) (hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety), and byadministering the relevant antigen (e.g. phosphocofilin) to a transgenicanimal that has been modified to produce such antibodies in response toantigenic challenge, but whose endogenous loci have been disabled, e.g.,immunized xenomice (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,939,598; 6,075,181;6,114,598; 6,150,584 and 6,162,963 to Kucherlapati et al. regardingXENOMOUSE™ technology, each of which patents are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety), e.g. Veloclmmune® (Regeneron, Tarrytown,N.Y.), e.g. UltiMab® platform (Medarex, now Bristol Myers Squibb,Princeton, N.J.). See also, for example, Li et al., Proc. Natl. Acad.Sci. USA, 103:3557-3562 (2006) regarding human antibodies generated viaa human B-cell hybridoma technology. See also KM Mouse® system,described in PCT Publication WO 02/43478 by Ishida et al., in which themouse carries a human heavy chain transchromosome and a human lightchain transgene, and the TC mouse system, described in Tomizuka et al.(2000) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 97:722-727, in which the mouse carriesboth a human heavy chain transchromosome and a human light chaintranschromosome, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference intheir entirety. In each of these systems, the transgenes and/ortranschromosomes carried by the mice comprise human immunoglobulinvariable and constant region sequences.

“Humanized” forms of non-human (e.g., murine) antibodies are chimericantibodies that contain minimal sequence derived from non-humanimmunoglobulin. In one embodiment, a humanized antibody is a humanimmunoglobulin (recipient antibody) in which residues from ahypervariable region (HVR) of the recipient are replaced by residuesfrom a HVR of a non-human species (donor antibody) such as mouse, rat,rabbit, or nonhuman primate having the desired specificity, affinity,and/or capacity. In some instances, FR residues of the humanimmunoglobulin variable domain are replaced by corresponding non-humanresidues. These modifications may be made to further refine antibodyperformance. Furthermore, in a specific embodiment, humanized antibodiesmay comprise residues that are not found in the recipient antibody or inthe donor antibody. In an embodiment, the humanized antibodies do notcomprise residues that are not found in the recipient antibody or in thedonor antibody. In general, a humanized antibody will comprisesubstantially all of at least one, and typically two, variable domains,in which all or substantially all of the hypervariable loops correspondto those of a non-human immunoglobulin, and all or substantially all ofthe FRs are those of a human immunoglobulin sequence. The humanizedantibody optionally will also comprise at least a portion of animmunoglobulin constant region (Fc), typically that of a humanimmunoglobulin. See, e.g., Jones et al., Nature 321:522-525 (1986);Riechmann et al., Nature 332:323-329 (1988); Presta, Curr. Op. Struct.Biol. 2:593-596 (1992); Vaswani and Hamilton, Ann. Allergy, Asthma &Immunol. 1:105-115 (1998); Harris, Biochem. Soc. Transactions23:1035-1038 (1995); Hurle and Gross, Curr. Op. Biotech. 5:428-433(1994); and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,982,321 and 7,087,409, the contents of eachof which references and patents are hereby incorporated by reference intheir entirety. In one embodiment where the humanized antibodies docomprise residues that are not found in the recipient antibody or in thedonor antibody, the Fc regions of the antibodies are modified asdescribed in WO 99/58572, the content of which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

Techniques to humanize a monoclonal antibody are described in U.S. Pat.Nos. 4,816,567; 5,807,715; 5,866,692; 6,331,415; 5,530,101; 5,693,761;5,693,762; 5,585,089; and 6,180,370, the content of each of which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

As used herein, the terms “specifically binds” or grammatical equivalentthereof refers to when an antibody binds to an antigen with adissociation constant that is <1 μM, preferably <1 nM and mostpreferably <10 pM. For example, an antibody which specifically binds tophosphocofilin will bind to phosphocofilin but not to non-phosphorylatedcofilin to any detectable extent or to other cellular components. In anembodiment a detectable agent which binds to phosphorylated cofilin andto non-phosphorylated cofilin does not bind to any detectable level toany other cellular component.

The “predetermined ratio value” or “predetermined colocalizationintensity” referred to herein can readily be determined. It can be takenfrom a population group and determined empirically or assigned based onexperimental data. In an embodiment, the predetermined ratio value isthe ratio of the amount of phosphorylated cofilin to the total amount ofphosphorylated cofilin and non-phosphorylated cofilin as determined formone or more tumor samples at which, and below which, distal metastasisis not likely to occur. This value can be a normalized value, can bedetermined for the particular population at hand, from a control group,and/or from cohort studies which provide metastasis incidence. In anembodiment, the predetermined colocalization intensity value (IF),within the highly colocalized areas between Cy2 and Cy3 (which in anembodiment is first defined by masking out the pixels with low Pearsondistribution), is given by the product of the local fluorescenceintensity in each channel: IF=Icy2×Icy3, as determined form one or moretumor samples at which, and below which, distal metastasis is not likelyto occur. This value can be a normalized value, can be determined forthe particular population at hand, from a control group, and/or fromcohort studies which provide metastasis incidence.

Embodiments of the invention and all of the functional operationsdescribed in this specification, for example quantification ofphosphocofilin:total cofilin ratio (or phosphocofilin:total cofilincolocalization intensity) and comparison thereof to a predeterminedcontrol ratio, can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or incomputer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structuresdisclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or incombinations of one or more of them. Embodiments of the invention can beimplemented as one or more computer program products, i.e., one or moremodules of computer program instructions encoded on a computer readablemedium for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processingapparatus. The computer readable medium can be a machine readablestorage device, a machine readable storage substrate, a memory device,or a combination of one or more of them. The term “data processingapparatus” encompasses all apparatus, devices, and machines forprocessing data, including by way of example a programmable processor, acomputer, or multiple processors or computers. The apparatus caninclude, in addition to hardware, code that creates an executionenvironment for the computer program in question, e.g., code thatconstitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database managementsystem, an operating system, or a combination of one or more of them.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, softwareapplication, script, or code) can be written in any form of programminglanguage, including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can bedeployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module,component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computingenvironment. A computer program does not necessarily correspond to afile in a file system. A program can be stored in a portion of a filethat holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in amarkup language document), in a single file dedicated to the program inquestion, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store oneor more modules, sub-programs, or portions of code). A computer programcan be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computersthat are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites andinterconnected by a communication network.

The methods/processes and logic flows described in this specificationcan be performed by one or more programmable processors executing one ormore computer programs to perform functions by operating on input dataand generating output. The methods/processes and logic flows can also beperformed by, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purposelogic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or anASIC (application-specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, byway of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, andany one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, aprocessor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory ora random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer area processor for performing instructions and one or more memory devicesfor storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will alsoinclude, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer datato, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g.,magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computerneed not have such devices. Moreover, a computer can be embedded inanother device. Computer-readable media suitable for storing computerprogram instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory,media and memory devices, including by way of example semiconductormemory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magneticdisks, e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto-opticaldisks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and the memory can besupplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the invention canbe implemented on a computer having a display device, e.g., a CRT(cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, fordisplaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing device,e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by which the user can provide input to thecomputer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide for interactionwith a user as well; for example, feedback provided to the user can beany form of sensory feedback, e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback,or tactile feedback; and input from the user can be received in anyform, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.

Embodiments of the invention can be implemented in a computing systemthat includes a back-end component, e.g., as a data server, or thatincludes a middleware component, e.g., an application server, or thatincludes a front-end component, e.g., a client computer having agraphical user interface or a Web browser through which a user caninteract with an implementation of the invention, or any combination ofone or more such back-end, middleware, or front-end components. Thecomponents of the system can be interconnected by any form or medium ofdigital data communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples ofcommunication networks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a widearea network (“WAN”), e.g., the Internet.

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

The methods described herein (and the associated computer systems,apparatus and kits) can be performed mutatis mutandis with a detectableagent that binds non-phosphorylated cofilin and a detectable agent thatbinds phosphorylated cofilin, with the colocalization intensity, or theratio of phosphorylated cofilin:total phosphorylated andnon-phosphorylated cofilin being calculated from the amount of bounddetectable agent that binds phosphorylated cofilin/(the amount of bounddetectable agent that binds phosphorylated cofilin+the amount of bounddetectable agent that binds non-phosphorylated cofilin).

As used herein the “subject” is a mammal. Preferably, the subject is ahuman. The subject may have a tumor diagnosed as malignant or a tumornot diagnosed as malignant.

All combinations of the various elements described herein are within thescope of the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwiseclearly contradicted by context.

This invention will be better understood from the Experimental Details,which follow. However, one skilled in the art will readily appreciatethat the specific methods and results discussed are merely illustrativeof the invention as described more fully in the claims that followthereafter.

EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS Introduction

The activity status of cofilin is directly related to invasion,intravasation and metastasis of mammary tumors (12), but the overallactivity of the cofilin pathway, and not just that of any single gene inthe pathway, has been proposed to determine the invasiveness andmetastatic phenotype of tumor cells (13). Recently, cofilin regulationhas been modeled in invasive tumor cells (14). However, cofilin as apredictor of metastasis has not been resolved.

Materials and Methods

Paraffin-embedded human breast cancer tissue was arranged in TMA blocks(110 cores per block) using a Beecher Microarrayer, sectioned in slices(3-5 nm thick) and mounted on charged glass slides. After de-waxing, anantigen-retrieval was performed on Paskal system (125° C., 22 psimaximum for 2 minutes at pH 6.0, citrate buffer). After blocking with 1%BSA in TBS solution, samples were first incubated with primaryantibodies (anti-cofilin, AE774, 5.6 μg/ml; anti-pS3-cofilin, AE441,1.75 μg/ml) for one hour at RT then washed and incubated with secondaryantibodies (donkey anti-chicken-Cy3, 5 μg/ml, and donkeyanti-rabbit-Cy2, 10 μg/ml) for one hour at RT. All slides were washedand covered with glass using Mowiol mounting media with addition ofDABCO anti-fading agent. Image acquisition was performed using a 20×objective (S-Fluor, NA0.75, Nikon) and a Lumen 200 (10% output, Prior,UK) light source.

For colocalization intensity analysis, the background area whichcorresponds to the pixels with low overlap distribution (ri <1.0) (15)was masked out. The highly colocalized areas between Cy2 and Cy3 werethen found by masking out the pixels with low Pearson distribution (pi<1.0) (16). Finally, the colocalization intensity image (I_(F)) of theremaining highly colocalized pixels is built and its average valuecalculated. In the following, the Cy2 and Cy3 fluorescence channelintensities are respectively written I_(Cy2) and I_(Cy3) for each pixelforming an image. The overlap coefficient R is conventionally calculatedby averaging the overlap distribution R_(i):

$R = {\frac{1}{N_{Pixels}}{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N_{Pixels}}\; r_{i}}}$with$r_{i} = {N_{Pixels} \times \frac{I_{F_{i}}}{\sqrt{\sum\limits_{n = 1}^{N_{Pixels}}\; {I_{{Cy}\; 2_{n}}^{2} \times {\sum\limits_{n = 1}^{N_{Pixels}}\; I_{{Cy}\; 3_{n}}^{2}}}}}}$

where the colocalization intensity IF is given by the product of thelocal fluorescence intensityin each channel: I_(F)=I_(Cy2)×I_(Cy3). Similarly, the Pearsoncoefficient P is calculated by averaging the Pearson distribution Pi:

$P = {\frac{1}{N_{Pixels}}{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N_{Pixels}}\; p_{i}}}$with$p_{i} = {N_{Pixels} \times \frac{\left( {I_{{Cy}\; 2_{i}} - I_{{Cy}\; 2_{Average}}} \right) \times \left( {I_{{Cy}\; 3_{i}} - I_{{Cy}\; 3_{Average}}} \right)}{\sqrt{\sum\limits_{n = 1}^{N_{Pixels}}\; {\left( {I_{{Cy}\; 2_{n}}^{2} - I_{{Cy}\; 2_{Average}}} \right)^{2} \times {\sum\limits_{n = 1}^{N_{Pixels}}\; \left( {I_{{Cy}\; 3_{n}}^{2} - I_{{Cy}\; 3_{Average}}} \right)^{2}}}}}}$

Experimental Results

It is disclosed herein that increased levels of cofilin expression andphosphorylated cofilin, when co-localized in tumor cells, predictsmetastatic recurrence in breast cancer patients. A two antibodyimmunofluorescence staining approach has been applied to measure theintensity of this co-localization. It was found that the intensity isinversely correlated with time to metastasis (see FIG. 1). A significantincrease in the risk of recurrence due to distal metastasis is observedwith higher levels of phosphorylated cofilin present in tumors. FIG.1(A) shows representative images of infiltrating ductal carcinomastained with anti-phospho-Ser 3-cofilin and anti-pan-cofilin antibodies.Co-localization analysis was performed on 69 patients (30 patients froma 1980's cohort and 39 patients from a 1990's cohort). A highphosphorylated cofilin:total cofilin ratio (or high phosphorylatedcofilin:total cofilin colocalization intensity) indicates an increasedlikelihood of recurrence due to distal metastasis.

FIG. 2 is a plot of raw data showing the inverse correlation betweenphosphocofilin:total cofilin colocalization intensity and time torelapse due to distal metastasis in the same patient cohort shown in theKaplan Meier analysis FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 contains additional data showing the significance ofpcofilin:cofilin colocalisation intensity in a multivariate model thatincorporates other clinicopathological and image parameters. These arederived from imaging the further samples (from Guy's Hospital, London,n=141) within the Molecular Taxonomy of Breast Cancer InternationalConsortium (METABRIC) cohort that recently uncovered furtherheterogeneous breast cancer subgroups with distinct clinical outcomesthrough analysis of paired DNA-RNA profiles on 1,992 tumors (Curtis,2012). Pcofilin:cofilin colocalisation intensity was the mostbiologically significant image parameter measured among the others afteradjustment for antiestrogen (hormonal; Tr.hormone.beta in the FIG. 3)and chemotherapy (Tr.chemo.beta in FIG. 3) effects.

This additional multivariate analysis takes into account the ReportingRecommendations for Tumor Marker Prognostic Studies (REMARK) guidelines,which assert that multivariate analysis is preferred over the log-rankassessment performed on the Kaplan-Meier data (see earlier analysis).(McShane 2005)

REFERENCES

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1. A method of determining if a subject having a tumor is likely toexperience metastasis of the tumor comprising contacting a sample of thetumor with (a) a detectable agent that binds phosphorylated cofilin and(b) a detectable agent which binds both phosphorylated cofilin andnon-phosphorylated cofilin and quantifying (i) the phosphorylatedcofilin bound by (a) and (ii) the total of phosphorylated cofilin andnon-phosphorylated cofilin bound by (b), wherein a ratio of the amountof phosphorylated cofilin bound:total amount of phosphorylated cofilinand non-phosphorylated cofilin bound in excess of a predetermined ratiovalue, or a colocalization intensity value (IF) within the highlycolocalized areas marked by (a) and (b) in excess of a predetermined IFvalue, indicates that the subject having the tumor is likely toexperience metastasis of the tumor.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe tumor is a breast cancer tumor, or a tumor of the nasopharynx,pharynx, lung, bone, brain, sialaden, stomach, esophagus, testes, ovary,uterus, liver, small intestine, appendix, colon, rectum, gall bladder,pancreas, kidney, urinary bladder, breast, cervix, vagina, vulva,prostate, thyroid or skin.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein IF isintensity of (a) in pixels of an image of the sample x intensity of (b)in pixels of the image of the sample, optionally first masking outpixels with low Pearson distribution.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinthe tumor is a solid tumor.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the sampleis a biopsy sample.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the sample issurgically removed from the subject.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinthe detectable agent that binds phosphorylated cofilin comprises anantibody, or antigen-binding fragment thereof, that specifically bindsphosphorylated cofilin.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the detectableagent which binds to phosphorylated cofilin and to non-phosphorylatedcofilin comprises an antibody, or antigen-binding fragment thereof,which binds phosphorylated cofilin and which also bindsnon-phosphorylated cofilin.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein thedetectable agent which binds to phosphorylated cofilin and tonon-phosphorylated cofilin and/or the detectable agent which binds tophosphorylated cofilin comprises a fluorescent moiety.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, wherein both the detectable agents each comprise a fluorescentmoiety and wherein the detectable agent that binds to phosphocofilincomprises a different fluorescent moiety from the fluorescent moiety ofthe detectable agent that binds to phosphorylated cofilin and tonon-phosphorylated cofilin.
 11. (canceled)
 12. The method of claim 1,wherein the phosphorylated cofilin and non-phosphorylated cofilin arehuman cofilin.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the cofilin comprisesSEQ ID NO:1.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the sample is aparaffin-embedded biopsy sample.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein thedetectable agent which binds to phosphorylated cofilin and which bindsto non-phosphorylated cofilin comprises an anti-pan-cofilin antibody.16. The method of claim 1, wherein the detectable agent whichspecifically binds to phosphorylated cofilin comprises ananti-phospho-Ser-3-cofilin antibody.
 17. The method of claim 1, whereinthe predetermined ratio value is determined from one or more subjectswith malignant tumors which have not metastasized.
 18. (canceled) 19.The method of claim 1, further comprising administering to the subjectfound likely to experience metastasis of the tumor an anti-metastatictherapy.
 20. A method of mitigating the risk of metastasis of a tumor ina subject comprising administering to a subject identified by the methodof claim 1 as likely to experience metastasis of the tumor ananti-metastatic therapy.
 21. A kit for determining if a subject having atumor is likely to experience metastasis of the tumor, the kitcomprising (a) a detectable agent that specifically binds phosphorylatedcofilin and (b) a detectable agent which binds to phosphorylated cofilinand which binds to non-phosphorylated cofilin, and instructions for use.22. (canceled)
 23. A computer system comprising a program fordetermining if a subject having a tumor is likely to experiencemetastasis of the tumor, the computer system comprising a processor anda memory encoding one or more programs coupled to the processor, whereinthe processor effects the one or more programs to quantifyphosphorylated cofilin stained with a detectable agent in a sample fromthe tumor in the subject and quantify total phosphorylated cofilin andun-phosphorylated cofilin stained with a different detectable agent inthe sample and determine the ratio thereof. 24-30. (canceled)